"Etta Jenks" to be staged at Bates

A small-town girl’s pursuit of stardom in Hollywood is the subject of a play to be staged by the theater department at Bates College in the Gannett Theater on May 11, 13, 14, 15, 16 17, and 18 at 8 p.m. and on May 12 and 19 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $6 for general admission and $3 for seniors and students.

“Etta Jenks” by Marlene Meyer is “an ancient story turned into a sardonic, eye-opening plunge into a contemporary netherworld,” wrote Mel Gussow of the New York Times. Paul Kuritz, chair of the Bates theater department, will direct the production, starring Gina McMahon ’97 as Etta and Ben Levy ’98 as Clyde. Etta Jenks is a provincial girl from the midwest who travels to tinseltown to pursue her dream of becoming an actress only to be snared by the worlds of sexual pornography and metaphysical miracles.

Meyer won the Joseph Kesselring Award for “Etta Jenks” and was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Award. Her other plays include “Kingfish,” produced at the Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC) in the 1988-89 season and by the New York Shakespeare Festival in 1989-90; and “Geography of Luck,” produced by the South Coast Rep and LATC in 1989. Formerly a playwright-in- residence at LATC, Meyer lives in New York City.

The Bates production will feature lighting and technical design by Joshua Williamson, and scene and costume design by Barabara Rogers, assisted by Amanda Trottier ’96, Sheela Madhani ’99 and Vanessa Pino ’98. Zoe Lawson ’98 will be stage manager with assistance from Sara Trachtenberg ’99 and Erika Timperman ’97.

For further information, call the box office, open Monday through Friday from 3 to 5 p.m., at 207-786-6161.